


Shattered

by sydnubabu



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, this used to be fanfic but then i deviated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 14:46:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18390539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sydnubabu/pseuds/sydnubabu
Summary: What's a king to do? His wife is dead. He has no children. And every day he gets more and more suspicious of everyone around him. What happens when it all goes wrong?Current TW: SuicideFuture TW: Rape/Non-Con(I started writing this as an Eragon fanfic over ten years ago, but now it has morphed into something completely unrecognizable from that.)





	1. She's Gone

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Suicide
> 
> The beginning of the end.

Tired after a day of hard negotiations with the lords of the outer ring, Alim decided to swing by the kitchens on the way back to his rooms. He was starving, and hopefully they would have something to give him. He yawned as he started to descend the stairs, but he stopped when he heard a strange sound echo through the castle. He could discern that it was human, but whether it was male or female he couldn’t tell. There- he heard it again. Alim’s heart started to race, and he decided that food could wait. The screams continued to echo through the corridors. Alim began walking faster and then broke into a run. His thoughts went to Ava. Had she gone into labor?

He ran toward their chambers as fast as he could. But then he noticed that the sound wasn’t coming from that direction. He stopped dead in his tracks. If it wasn’t Ava…

Following the direction of the keening, he jogged through the castle. He passed servants, but none of them offered an explanation for the sounds. As he jogged, he realized that it was coming from the king’s quarters. He broke into a sprint, shouting, “Namir! Namir!” as loud as he could. His legs felt heavy as he skidded around the corner and threw open the door to his brother’s chambers. What he saw chilled him to the bone. It was his brother making those awful screams. Namir sat on the floor cradling the dead body of his wife, his clothing disheveled and his head hung low. As Alim stepped into the room, Namir threw his head back and howled in despair, sobbing and screaming “No!” over and over again.

Alim tip toed closer to his brother, trying so very hard to avoid looking at Celeste’s limp body. It wasn’t until he was nearly to him that he looked up and saw the rope hanging from the rafters. Alim gasped audibly and stumbled backward into the chair, knocking it on its side. Namir turned swiftly to face the intruder. The look on his face was one of pure desperation. “Go get help, she needs help!” he yelled. Tears streamed down his face as he continued to sob. He cradled her head to his chest, moaning, “Please, please.”

Alim stood stock still, his breathing heavy, gripping on to the fallen chair. “Namir… Namir you need to put her down.” He reached out to him, his hand shaking. “Namir. Please.”

Namir rocked back and forth, still holding her body. His sobs were quieter than before. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

Alim heard someone enter the room, and he whipped around. Before the guard could speak, Alim started walking toward him. He pointed at the guard, saying “You. Out. Get out.” He kept walking, grabbing the guard by the shoulders and turning him around, pushing him out the door. He pulled the door closed behind him. He leaned back on it and rested his head in his hands. “Don’t let anyone in who isn’t immediate family.”

“But sir, the king…”

“As the king is currently indisposed, that makes me the acting ruler. So you will do as I say when I say that this is a private family matter, and you are not to let anybody in.” Alim stared the guard down, as if daring him to speak out again.

The guard nodded. “Yes, my lord.”

Alim sighed heavily. He could still hear his brother’s sobs through the door. He flagged down another guard that had come to investigate the strange sounds. “You- I need you to find Corinne and Julia. They need to be here.” After some consideration, Alim added, “Find a doctor as well.”

The guard nodded and swiftly jogged away. The first guard turned to look at Alim. “Why did you ask for a doctor? Surely he can’t save her.”

“It’s not for her.” Alim pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s for him.” He looked around, mulling over his options. As he moved away from the door, he looked back at the guard. “Don’t let anyone in until I get back, understood? Well, let the doctor in. I need to check on my wife.”

Alim could feel the guilt of leaving his brother alone start to settle in his chest, but he knew that if he was worried about other things, he would be no help. He walked briskly to his quarters. He absolutely had to know that Ava was okay. 

He kept his head held high as he walked. Surely no one would disturb him if he walked with such purpose. As he crossed the hall, he saw her waddling towards him, and he ran to her. When they embraced, he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. He kissed her forehead lightly, and asked, “Are you okay?”

Ava smiled at him. “Of course I am. I just heard this awful wailing…” Her smile faded. “I suppose that’s why you asked.”

“Yes.” Alim lowered his eyes and caressed her pregnant belly. “You should know…” He looked up to her eyes. “You should know that Celeste is dead. She committed suicide.” Ava’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide open. Alim stroked her arms. “Namir found her. He… He’s a wreck.” He pulled her close again, his head resting on top of hers. His hand rubbed small circles on her back. “I have to take charge for now. While he mourns.”

Alim continued to rub circles on her back as he asked, “You know that I love you, right? That I would do anything for you?” Ava nodded furiously into his chest. Alim took a deep breath. “I need you to always tell me how you’re feeling. Please.” He could feel his throat start to close up. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”

Ava reached up to kiss him, cradling his face in her hand. “It’s been many years since I’ve felt those demons. But that’s not to say that they will never return.” She swallowed heavily. “I promise you, both for your sake and for our children, if I ever feel my depression return… Well, I’ll tell you.” She laughed a little bit, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You know that I’m going to hold you to the same standard as well, right?”

Alim clasped her hands in front of his face and kissed each of her fingers. “I promise the same.” He let her hands go as he sighed, his face twisted. “I have to go break the news to my sisters.”

Ava hugged him tight again. “You’ll be strong for them. I believe in you.” She let him go and gave a playful shove. “Go do what you have to do. I’ll be waiting.”  


Alim gave her one last kiss before he turned and jogged back into the nightmare.

 

He slowed his run to a walk as he approached Namir’s chambers. His sisters were waiting for him there, ever contrasting each other. Corinne, with her shining blonde hair, had her arms crossed, impatiently tapping her foot. Julia, with her deep brown hair, was fidgeting, nervously biting her lip. Alim steeled himself as he walked up to them, saying, albeit sarcastically, “Hello, dear sisters.”

Corinne whipped around to face him. “Why won’t this meathead of a guard let us in? Why did you bring us here if we weren’t allowed in?” Her nostrils flared, and Alim was reminded of how she used to bully him as a child. She cocked her head to the side, still waiting for an answer.

“I wanted to talk with you first. I didn’t want you to stumble upon it like I did.”

“Stumble upon what?” Julia was more soft-spoken than Corinne, but Alim knew that when she spoke, she could fling daggers with her words. “We can hear Namir crying, even now. Tell us what you saw.”

Alim rubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to center himself. “Celeste is dead.” His sisters gasped, their eyes widening. He took a deep, slow breath. “She committed suicide.”

The effect his statement had on his sisters was immediate. Julia dropped to her knees and wailed, while Corinne just looked at him. She stared into his eyes, looking for any possible sign that he could be lying. When she could find none, she re-crossed her arms and spoke. “The circumstances of her death have to remain confidential. We can’t have the whole country knowing that their queen killed herself.”

Julia stood up when she heard this, tears still in her eyes. “Our brother is suffering. His wife is dead. And you’re worried about the country?” She glared at her sister, causing Corinne to take a step backward.

Alim moved forward until he was between them. With resignation, he said, “I agree with Corinne. Nobody needs to know how she died.” Julia scoffed. “But,” he said, “the best thing that we can do right now is comfort Namir.” He looked back and forth between the two women. “Okay? Can we do that?”

They both nodded solemnly. Alim, the most stoic of his siblings, turned then to face the door and nodded at the guard. The three stepped inside to see Namir still sitting on the floor. They followed his line of sight to where the doctor had laid Celeste’s body on their bed. Namir tucked his head between his legs to regain composure, but every time he looked up and saw her, just lying there, he sobbed with renewed vigor.

Julia moved first across the room. Namir had always been her guardian, from the day she was born. She slowly sat down next to him and rubbed circles on his back. It was time for Julia to be the guardian. She pulled Namir in for a hug. He wrapped her up like a bear and cried into her shoulder while she kept whispering, “Shhh…”

Alim and Corinne held back. They both felt somewhat uncomfortable with these large emotional displays. The doctor headed towards them, skirting along the edge of the room. When he got closer, Alim spoke up. “I am incredibly sorry for anything that my brother did or said to you.”

The doctor looked back nervously at the king, who was now slumped over on the floor with Julia running her hand through his hair. He looked back at Alim and said, “I understand that this is a very trying time for him. As far as the queen…” He cleared his throat. “She is deceased. The cause being…” 

Corinne glared at the doctor, harsh in gaze and in words. “Spit it out, old man.”

He gulped. “She took her own life… By hanging,” he whispered.

Alim reached out and touched the doctor’s arm as he guided him towards the door. “Thank you for your service. You have served the Abramim family well. But I am afraid I must ask more of you. I would ask that you continue to attend to my brother as he recovers from this emotional ordeal. We will do our very best to help you, but he might be more willing to listen more to a professional.” Alim smiled softly. “I don’t want to lose my brother the same way we lost Celeste tonight.”

“Of course, my lord. I will just need help moving the body. It’s not good for him.”

“I will get you all the help you need.”

Once the doctor had exited, Alim strode across the room. He dragged a chair over and began to untie that damn rope hanging from the rafters. He wondered just how she had done it, but he quickly stifled that train of thought. As he climbed down with the rope in his hand, he saw Namir stand up. Namir looked like a bull getting ready to charge, and when he did Alim fought back. They had wrestled a lot when they were younger, and due to Namir’s emotional state, he was easy to overpower. Alim pinned him down yelling, “What? What did I do?” Namir, with tears welling up in his eyes grasped pitifully at the rope in Alim’s hands.

“Really? You want this?” Alim was disgusted. “Here. Take it! That’s what killed your wife!” He threw it at his older brother and walked toward the exit. Corinne tried to stop him, but he pushed her aside. “I can’t deal with him if he’s going to act like this.” His anger simmered just below his skin. “I’ll be right back.”

Namir sat, holding the length of rope in his hands. He was no longer crying. 

 

When Alim had cooled down, he returned to see Namir. He found him curled up on his bed, staring blankly into space with the rope wrapped tightly in his hands. Alim moved toward Corinne and Julia. They were sitting on the couch, absolutely drained from everything that had happened. He flopped down in between them, and looked back and forth, wondering who was going to talk first.

“Alim, it was awful.” Of course it would be Julia. “When they came to take her away, he… Well, it didn’t go well.” She grabbed his arm and shook her head. “And then he laid on the bed where she had been, and he hasn’t moved since.”

Corinne was strangely silent. Alim looked at her closely. It wasn’t like her to withdraw from conversation, but she looked like she was doing all she could to keep herself together. The country was watching, after all.


	2. Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alim begins his administrative duties as acting ruler. His wife just wishes he would come to bed.

Dear Lords of Cordonia,

            I regret to inform you that our Queen, Celeste Ardham, has passed away this evening. As we mourn our loss, we are reminded that the man who suffers the greatest loss is our King, Namir Abramim. While my brother recovers from this tragedy, I will take his place as acting ruler. During this time, any and all grievances should be addressed to myself.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Alim Abramim

                                                                                    High Lord of the Treasury

                                                                                    and Guardian of the Vault

Alim sat his pen down across the letter with an air of finality. But then he remembered, there were still hundreds of these to write. He rubbed his brow with his hands and groaned. Ava, who had been standing by his side, wrapped her arm around his shoulders. She leaned her head down onto his, still looking at the letter. “This is a hard job,” she mused. “But I think that you are capable.”

Alim looked up at his wife, her soft smile reassuring him. “Will you help me with the letters?” He took her hands. “All you would have to do is copy a few letters so that I don’t have to do as many. I would sign them, address them…”

Ava laughed and kissed the tip his nose. “Of course I’ll help you. Tomorrow.” She yawned. “Tonight, it’s time for bed.” She pulled Alim up from his desk and toward their shared bed, but he stopped ten feet short. Ava turned around and furrowed her brow. “What’s wrong, Alim?”

He watched her every move, her swollen belly a constant reminder that in a very short amount of time, he would have another child. She rested her hands on her belly, and Alim laughed to himself. “I just… I just would really like to have Marla sleep with us tonight.” He lowered his eyes. “It’s silly, but I just want to know that my whole family is safe and with me.”

“You know what?” Ava cupped his cheek in her hand. “I think that’s a great idea.” She reached up to kiss him gently. “As long as it doesn’t become a routine.”

Alim laughed, really laughed, at her comment. Give their daughter an inch and she would take a mile. He kissed Ava on the forehead. “I’ll go get her.” He walked to the door before turning around. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”

She shook her head slightly. “Only your safe return.”


End file.
